Her Name Was Alexandra
by Princess Corkey
Summary: "Sirius...you like telling me stories about the past, right?" Questions that haven't been asked in decades, and answers that shock everyone. "Her name was Alexandra."
1. We Open With A Question

"Sirius?"

Sirius Black turns his head, startled. He hadn't noticed his godson standing across the room. He was too far lost in his own thoughts. He turns and smiles, weakly and sadly, but sincerely.

"Sirius," Harry starts again, "You like telling me stories about the past, right?"

Sirius beams, his smile widening slightly. "Of course, Harry, of course! Oh the stories I could tell you about your parents." Sirius gets the same twinkle in his eye he always gets when he has a particularly embarrassing story in mind.

"Actually," Harry says slowly, "I was wondering about you. We always talk about my parents, but you won't really talk about yourself…" Harry trails off as Sirius's expression drops.

"What did you want to know?" his godfather replied, knowing the answer. Harry was nothing if not a strange sort of romantic. He loved hearing about his parents, laughing over Remus's failed love stories, and watching the awkward blooming romance between his two best friends.

"Was there ever…before Azkaban that is…was there…well…Sirius, was there ever a girl in your life?"

There was a long pause, and Harry watched Sirius's eyes burn with a pain that went beyond imprisonment in Azkaban under a false charge, that far surpassed being trapped, uselessly, in the childhood home he hated, and seemed to be a combined yearning for all the people he had lost in his lifetime. Harry instantly regretted asking the question that pulled such an obviously painful memory to light.

"Her name was Alexandra," Sirius said, slowly and carefully, as if he hadn't spoken the word for a while and it had a strange taste. "And she was beautiful."

Harry wasn't sure how long they stood there in silence after that, staring at the Black family tree as they did sometimes, as if perhaps the names of long-deceased Blacks would somehow shed new light on their current circumstances.

"Goodnight Harry," Sirius said with a small, sad smile and a hand on the shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning for breakfast then?" And without waiting for an answer, he was gone.

_Well that was strange._

* * *

**Author's Note: Yes, this is a rewrite of Deadly Poppy's Lost in Another Time, which as you can see I have shortened the title of. No, I am not stealing her ideas; that was my old account, and I'd like to start fresh now that I feel stronger and more confident as a writer. I hope you enjoy this remastering of a story that was really fun to write the first time and hopefully will be just as enjoyable to reopen:)**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Harry Potter. Trust me, I wish I did. Then maybe I could afford a new laptop screen an not be borrowing a friend's computer while I wait for mine to get fixed -_-**


	2. The One With The Rude Redhead

"We're going to Hogwarts!" a bouncing, eleven-year-old James Potter announced loudly. For the ninth time that day.

"James," Sirius, his best friend and partner in crime said slowly, before picking up the volume, "I KNOW!"

"Sorry," James replied, though of course not sounding sorry at all. "It's just so exciting!"

"I know," Sirius laughed, both exasperated and amused by the antics of his more hyper friend. "And I'm excited too, but-" At that moment he was cut off by a crashing sound and a girl falling through the doorway to their compartment.

"I am so sorry!" The boy behind her was exclaiming, his cheecks an impressive shade of scarlet. "I didn't mean to-"

The girl, about their age but almost humorously shorter, cuts him off with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing," she laughs, picking herself up and dramatically dusting her robes off with a flourish of her hands. "Honestly, I fall over all the time. I should be thanking you for speeding up the process."

Sirius and James laugh at the air with which the girl, tiny and pale, but with black curls springing from her head in every direction, speaks to the boy, who at the very least stood six inches taller than her. The pair seem to notice them for the first time.

"Oh, hello!" The sprightly girl exclaims, beaming. Clearly she is under the impression that falling into an occupied compartment is equivalent to successfully making friends, and in this case, she turns out to be very right indeed. "I'm Alexandra."

There is a brief, nearly imperceptable silence that is obviously too much for Alexandra, and she turns to her taller companian impatiently. "And you are?"

"Remus," he replied, eyes on the floor and face still red from his clumsy entrance.

"Good to meet you Remus!" the girl cries out brightly,at the same time Sirius holds out his hand for Remus to shake. "I'm Sirius," he explains, "and this here is my best friend James." He turns to Alexandra next and smiles at her, indicating the introduction was directed at her as well.

James stood up and took a very large bow, during which time Alexandra slid skillfully into his seat, seemingly not noticing his intention of sitting back down again. After a dramatic huff he winks and sits down next to her.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Alexandra demands of Remus, "or are you going to sit?" If the whole ordeal wasn't so amusing, Sirius might have felt bad for poor Remus, whose face was now entering a dangerously purple dimension of color.

"You can call me Alexa," the girl adddc as something of an afterthought, and though the introductions have already passed, her timing doesn't really strike anyone as off.

"What house do you think you'll be in, _Alexa_?" Sirius inquired, making a show of trying out this new name. He took this opportunity, while he's talking to her, to get a better analyzing look at her. That's when he first noticed her eyes, brilliant blue, like moonlight on the water, he muses. Sirius has always had a knack for words, though it is one of the things he deems far too uncool to take pride in.

"I'm going to be in Gryffindor!" James interjected, though of course Sirius has already heard this a thousand times. The girl giggles and nods.

"It sounds like the coolest," she agreed, nodding fervently. "But as long as Hogwarts doesn't tell me that I don't belong here and to return to my muggle family, I'll be happy."

"I'll be in Slytherin," Sirius muttered solemly, slinking down in his seat. "All my family is."

Indignantly, Alexa disagreed. "That doesn't matter! It's what's in your heart that counts!"

Sirius snorteed and mutters a comment about sounding like a fortune cookie. Though he's too stubborn to show it, her optimism did help to ease his nerves.

"I'd like to be in Gryffindor as well," Remus piped up, "Or perhaps Ravenclaw, I suppose," he added as an afterthought, most likely to not appear to be copying everyone else's house of choice.

"Aha!" Alexa cried, startling Remus once more. "He isn't mute!"

"No," Remus replied, smiling only slightly. "I just talk very little unless neccessary."

Sirius nodded, a mock-serious expression on his face. "That simply will not do. We will have to change that quickly." Remus blushes again, but this time out of happiness. He took this foretelling to mean he has made friends, and the idea is one he quite likes.

"So," James said suddenly, returning to a previous topic. "You're a muggle born."

Alexa cocked her head and squinted her eyes tightly. "Not sure," she admitted. "I never met my real parents. I've passed through a long line of foster homes as long as I can remember."

There was a long pause in which no one knows wat to say, until the silence is broken by Alexa cracking a huge grin and expressing the opinion that, muggle born or no, she still fully intends to "out-magic" James at school.

The boys all laugh loudly, until that too is interrupted, this time by the compartment door flying open once more and a tall girl with long, fiery red hair huffing as she struts inside.

"Excuse me," she said in a disgusted tone, "but you are being very rude."

Alexa nods. "Oh no. Was I going into other people's compartments and telling them off again? Oh...wait...no. That was you, wasn't it?"

The boys began laughing all over again, and the redhead stormed away in a huff, slamming the door as hard as she can.

"She was pretty," the normally hyper James said cooly, crossing his arms over his chest. Sirius rolls his eyes.

"And rude!" Alexa cried indignantly. "Don't forget rude."

"I like my women with a bit of a wild side," James joked. "Ten galleons says I marry that girl one day."

Alexa shook her head, laughing. "You're on," she giggles, and they shake on it.


	3. We Learn A Little More

"She was beautiful."

Harry jumped, startled, as he turned to see his godfather standing in the doorway of his room. It only took him a moment to realize who Sirius was referring to. Harry nodded slightly, urging him to continue.

"She was smart, and talented, and she had a heart of gold. She knew when anyone was upset and just what to say to make it better. But she didn't put up with self-pity. Many a time I watched her shove somebody back up onto their feet after a fall, quite literally." Sirius passed a chuckled, a distant look in his eyes as though he were watching an old memory play itself out before him.

"Your father loved her, of course. Remus too. Everyone did really. Except, of course, your mother. Ah, to watch those two go at it, like a cat and dog they were."

"Did they ever become friends?" Harry asked impatiently.

"Oh the best. Inseperable in the end. Too much alike for their own damn good though." Harry grinned and Sirius continued."She actually got your parents together," Sirius conclued, to Harry's delight.

"What happened to her?" Harry wanted to know, and Sirius was silent for a moment.

"She's gone," he replied simply.

"Did she die?" Harry asked, biting his lip as soon as the words were out.

"She's gone," Sirius repeated, and Harry knew the conversation was over.

* * *

**AN: What do you guys think so far? Let me know!**


	4. The One With The Tickled Pear

Ever since that day, they were inseparable.

There was another boy in their year, Peter, and though he never quite fit, nobody ever minded letting him tag along. Not after a long scolding from a very indignant Alexandra about bullying, that is.

It was a warm spring night in their first year, and Alexa was hungry.

"Remusssss," she hissed, prodding him in the chest. That boy slept like a rock. She rolled her eyes and moved to the next bed. James was no more useful than her first try.

"Lex?" Sirius mumbled, sitting up slowly and rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing up here?"

Before she could answer, he muttered a little louder, "And for the love of god, what time is it?"

"It's nearly one in the morning," she replied brightly. "I haven't slept, and I'm hungry."

Sirius flopped back onto bed, exasperated. How Alexa could eat and eat and stay the size of a stick insect he would never understand.

He groaned, rolling out from under the blanet. "So? What do you want me to do about it?" Alexa grinned evilly and Sirius regretted asking.

"I found something," she told him, her eyes gleaming with the pride of knowing a secret. "Something cool."

Ten minutes later Sirius found himself standing in a corridor, at one in the morning, wishing he'd put socks on. These floor were not warm at night. "Okay? Where is this 'passage' you claim to have discovered?" he asked, still skeptical.

"I feel like a maurader," Alexan whispered excitedly, ignoring both his question and tone. "Like I'm exploring and I'm gonna loot treasure. And stuff. You loot treasure, right? Or do you pillage treasure? What's pillaging?"

Sirius rolled his eyes but couldn't help but to grin. "Yeah, Lexi. Sneaking out of bed at night makes us marauders."

"We could totally be marauders!" Alexa cried defensively, and Sirius shushed her. She continued, more quietly, "With all those pranks you like to pull, and sneaking all those fireworks out at night. We're practically marauders already..."

Sirius was sure she had more to say on the subject, but at that moment she interrupted herself. "Here it is!" She cried. "Now tickle the pear."

Sirius was sure he'd heard her wrong. "Excuse me?"

Alexa laughed and pointed to the painting hanging in front of them. "You heard me," she insisted. "Tickle the pear."

For no one else would Sirius Black do something that seemed so ridiculous, but for this girl, one of his best friends and so innocently hopeful, he had to try. So he did. He tickled the pair.

"Wow," Sirius said appreciatively, his eyes widening in shock as the painting opened up to reveal a perfect entrance into the Hogwart's kitchens. He looked at Alexa and laughed. "Maybe we are marauders after all."


	5. The One With The Furry Little Problem

"Where's Remus?"

Twelve-year-old Alexa was flopped haphazardly across the laps of Sirius and James in the Gryffindor common room. They got plenty of interesting looks for the closeness of their friendship, but the Marauders couldn't have cared less.

"He's visiting his mother," James replied laughing, "just like he does every month. Don't you ever pay attention?"

Alexa nodded vaguely. Remus's mother was fine, that much she knew. She could tell when people were lying, and though Remus may have been good enough at it, or perhaps just experienced enough, to fool Sirius and James, he was no match for her intuition. Remus Lupin was hiding something.

* * *

"How's your mother?"

The question caught Remus off-guard. He hadn't seen Alexa sitting off to the side when he'd stumbled sleepily into the common room that night, determined to drag himself up to bed and sleep for the remainder of the weekend.

"She's not well," he answered vaguely, just as he always did. "She's still quite ill."

Alexa looked up at him sadly, knowingly. "It's nothing to be ashamed of," she told him quietly.

A bit perturbed, and more than a little suspicious, Remus replied cautiously. "I know…my mother's illness is something we're getting through."

"You're one of the best people I know, Remus."

"What are you talking about?" Remus barked at her, startling the young girl. "This isn't about me; it's about my mother!"

Alexa brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and a tear slipped down her cheek at Remus's uncharacteristic anger.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered, shocked at himself. He took a step toward her, then stopped, remembering that she was onto him.

Alexa continued despite her sudden lack of confidence. "We all love you," she whispered, but he heard her loud and clear. "We all love you so much."

And then Remus was crying as well, and Alexa flung herself toward him, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and sobbing into his chest.

"It isn't fair, Remus!" she cried. "It isn't fair that this happened to you but it's even less fair you should be afraid to let your friends know you!"

"Do they know?" Remus asked quietly, sniffling. Alexa shook her head.

"They won't care," she insisted stubbornly. "They'll love you anyway, we all will. We won't think any different just because you have a—a—a furry little problem!"

Remus chuckled despite himself, and before long this light chuckle turned into a full on laugh, and he doubled over, clutching his stomach. Never before had anyone made light of his situation—rightfully so; a lycanthropy was no joking matter—and he loved it. People had told him before that it made no difference to them, that it didn't affect their opinion of him, but never before had he believed them.

Never before had he had laughed like this after a full moon. Never before had it felt this…okay.

The next morning, when a trickle of early-risers came down from the dorms into the common room, they found Alexa and Remus curled up in the old armchair by the fireplace, their mouths in wide grins and tears dried onto their cheeks.


	6. The One With The Fiery Pillow

A few days later, Sirius walked into the living room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place to find Harry and Ron in amazement at the last advanced spell Hermione had managed to tackle.

"She was like you," he said, out of the blue. He knew of course that Harry would undoubtedly have already told his two friends of their conversations. "Brilliant. She could out-cast anyone in our class. Even your mother, Harry, for a time. Then of course that stubborn witch pulled ahead. She refused to let anyone beat her." Sirius and Harry shared a grin at this characteristic of his mother.

"She was smart as a whip, that girl," Sirius replied, smiling that same sad smile her got when he spoke of Alexandra. "She really was."

* * *

"Watch this guys," Alexa chuckled. "Getting under her skin is so easy. Hey, Evans!"

Lily Evans whirled around on her heel, her red hair whipping against her face, which nearly matched it in color at this particular moment.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Lily spat out, contempt in her voice. It was third year now, and though our gang was older, maturity was still a far off thing to worry about. Alexa, finally standing proudly at five feet, was leading the Marauder's (as they came to call themselves) down the corridor.

James smiled and blushed slightly at the sound of Lily's voice, something everyone but Lily herself noticed. He always did. Remus nudged him, though whether it was meant as encouragement or a warning to keep his mouth shut was impossible to tell.

"Whoa. Chill," Alexa said slowly, her eyes widening "I just wanted to know what you got on your Transfiguration quiz." Though her tone was cautious, the sly grin she was trying to hide said she already knew the answer.

Lily's eyes burned with...tears? Alexa's jaw dropped as Lily sped off towards the corridor.

"I...I didn't mean to make her cry," Alexa said, clearly ashamed. Sirius reached out for her, but she was already headed after Lily.

* * *

"Evans?" Alexa called quietly up the stairs. "Lily?" she added, more carefully, as she entered the room.

"Go away," Lily sobbed, her face buried in her pillow. Her red hair spread across the pillow gave the illusion that her bed was catching fire, Alex mused in an attempt to avoid the confrontation she knew was about to follow.

"No," she replied stubbornly. "I live here too."

She sat on her bed huffily before the realization hit her that this really was not the way to start off an apology.

"Lily...I'm sorry," she managed to get out, sincerely even.

"Shut up," Lily cried. "Just shut up."

"No," Alexa repeated, softly this time. "I really am. I like to poke fun, but I don't do it to be mean. Honest."

"Oh please. You _love_ that you can walk into class and beat me without even studying, knowing I work my arse off every night."

"That's true," Alexa conceded with a slight smile. "But I never realized it bothered you this much. I never meant to be mean. Never."

Lily didn't look at her as she spoke. "You don't understand. It's so easy for you. The friendship thing, the school thing. You don't even have to work at it. I've always worked so hard to have those things. And now, even as hard as I can possibly try, I can't do it. I..." she trailed off.

"What?" Alexa prodded. "Tell me. Please."

"I wanted...I mean, at one point...it was ridiculous, of course, but I thought maybe...OH!" She buried her face back in her pillow.

Suddenly Alexa was sitting on the bed beside her, a hand on her shoulder. "I'll help you with it. You're a thousand times smarter than I am Lil," (This nickname was an obvious sign of the sudden closeness between them, though neither seemed to notice.) "and I know that if you can just look at it the way I do, it will be so simple for you to be top of the class you'll have to slow down just to keep pace with the professors!"

Lily giggled, then paused. "You'd do that?" she said finally. "After all our fights? Even after I called you an elf and even though I cut your hair while you were sleeping?"

"That was you?" Alexa cried, jumping up from the bed, and Lily's face fell instantly. Alexa gathered her composure, then managed to crack a smile. "I guess that just makes us even," she admitted slowly, "for the loss of your eyebrows last year."

Lily's jaw hit the floor. "Truce?" she grumbled between her teeth. Alexa nodded.

* * *

"What the bloody hell is this?" Sirius yelled as he watched Lily Evans and Alexandra Albright waltz into the common room, arm in arm, smiling. "Has everyone gone mad?"

A few people rolled their eyes, used to Sirius's antics, but many actually did turn and stare, equally used to the heated arguments between the two witches. Both shrugged, grinning, and promptly walked right through the portrait hole.

But not, of course, before hearing James very conspicuously whisper to the guys, "This...is my in."


End file.
